Missouri Pastor Speaks Out About His Viral Speech on Gay Rights

By now you may be acquainted with Rev. Phil Snider, a pastor whose Springfield City Council speech about homosexuality went viral this week. Watch it if you haven't yet! The dude knows how get a crowd's attention.

Yesterday, after his Facebook inbox blew up, Sinder explained his inspiration for the speech, which he gave in August, and which has since been watched nearly 2 million times on YouTube.

I'm really heartened by all of the emails, Facebook messages, and kind words that I've received over the last 24 hours. As I read each one, I don't see them simply as messages that seek to affirm a particular talk I gave on a particular night in Springfield, MO (as grateful as I am for such affirmations), but rather, I view them as a reflection of the thousands - indeed, the millions - of people who, on a daily basis, are journeying together because we believe that our world can be a better place, a fairer place, a more beautiful place - for all people and not just for some - and we won't stop calling for a more beautiful world to be born. I'm also grateful for all of the people who have come before us - many whose names history won't recall - who have allowed us to be where we are now, on whose shoulders we stand. These folks may not be famous - more times than not they are friends or family members who have bravely told their story, often in the face of major consequences. They are the ones who have brought us to this place, and we carry their stories with us as we try to build a a more just world.

In time I hope to respond to each email I receive, but at this point I simply can't keep up with all of them...I thought I'd share some quick responses here:

A lot of people ask, "How can a pastor who values the Bible take this kind of stance?" Truth be told, there are a bunch of pastors and people of faith across the country who are open and affirming - not in spite of their faith, but precisely because of it.